Karla's Blog

May 3, 2022

Even though we’re not traveling I’m still trying to find things to post about. Food and wildlife seem to be good topics and, since I’m hungry, I’ll start with food.

A while back Larry created his “Blueberry Pancake Bake” using ramekins. He had attempted making regular flapjacks but the specific pancake mix he was using made it difficult to get them cooked in the middle without taking forever and burning the outside. So he had a brainstorm to bake it in ramekins. Genius! Beautiful aren’t they? A little butter and/or syrup and it’s good to go! They’re very delicious and filling!

So, with the ramekins in mind, I recently created my “Breakfast Souffle. I didn’t use a recipe so I just kind of winged it and OMGosh! They came out soooo good, soooo tasty and just the right amount in each ramekin! Larry couldn’t stop oohing and aahing while eating his. I like that ;-D. I was very pleased that they turned out well. Woohoo!! ;-).

Thinking about food and wildlife, we recently stopped in a store in Temecula called Roots Organic Market. As you can imagine most things were outlandishly expensive! We went to the meat department because we’ve been on the lookout for organic and/or grass fed meats. We actually have found grass fed ground beef and turkey at our Walmart, but with no real selection. We’re so glad they’re starting to carry it, but we wanted to see what else might be available at Roots. They had the usual like beef, fowl and venison but we were floored to see other exotic stuff like Ostrich and Alligator! Oh my! We looked at each other and said . . NAW. Yea, we’re chickens! bock, bock, bock, bock!

Ahem! Moving on to wildlife . . . There are many birds here such as Doves and Grackles and, of course, the ducks you’ve seen in previous posts. But what you haven’t seen yet is the new babies! That mama looks so proud doesn’t she?

They’re so cute I can’t stand it!  😀

There’s also a pair of Canadian Geese that seem to have found a home here. I love hearing and seeing them flying all over the park. Sometimes we see them out on the golf course from our patio and other times just cruising around while we’re out on a walk. Here they’re near the fishing lake.

I think they’re beautiful, especially in flight. Like any bird they can be a pain because they poop on things. We often see large splats of that nature on the roads throughout the park. I haven’t seen much on the golf course but what we do see out there is Coot poop! 

What’s a Coot you ask? Well, here ya go . . .

Not too interesting but not uninteresting either. I have to say they are pretty funny when they run. What makes them unpopular around here is that they leave tar like poop all over the golf course, sometimes in trails a foot long! Ugh. Apparently management has some kind of removal project in place so that many are removed every year to keep the population down. Neither Larry or I have ever seen them actually in the water. They’ve always just been wandering around on the grass. Hmmm.

Speaking of the golf course! We’ve been playing a little. I’m a complete newbie but I’m enjoying the game. We weren’t playing for a while because I can only take the sun for very short periods but, Eureka! I have found a solution! I have a cool wide brimmed hat that I got at the San Diego Safari Park. I actually get a lot of compliments on it. Larry says I look good in hats ;-).

 And . . . I have also discovered sun protection sleeves. These are my first:

I think they’re pretty cool. You might ask why I don’t just wear long sleeves or use sunscreen (which I’ve done for years until recently). Well, first, the back of my hands need to be covered as well so these make that work. Second, I’ve done a lot of research on this and have learned that most commercial sunscreens have toxic and/or carcinogenic ingredients in them. Why would I continue to put that on my body? I’ve obtained the ingredients to make my own sunscreen but just haven’t taken the time to do it yet. Soon . . . When I do, that will be another post.

I’ve ordered more sleeves in different colors and designs so I can actually make a fashion statement out of it HAHA! I’ll become known as the lady with the white hat and funny sleeves LOL. That’s alright by me. Mostly I’m just glad I can go out on the golf course for a couple of hours without being burnt to a crisp. Yea baby!